Her departure comes at a critical time for an administration dealing with a summer of labor unrest, with estimates from national labor unions showing more than 650,000 U.S. workers were on or threatened strikes in the first half of 2023. At the White House, Drake advised Biden and his team on labor negotiations that had a direct impact on the country's supply chain and the economy, current and former White House officials said. Responding to concerns around the timing of her departure, Deese said, the White House has planned for this transition and it will be able to maintain its "strong focus on labor." The White House did not comment on Drake's potential successor. The source said another key Biden labor adviser, Erika Dinkel-Smith, was recently promoted to the position of senior labor adviser within the White House's Office of Political Strategy.

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Persons: Joe Biden, Marty Walsh, Celeste Drake, Kevin, Read, Joe Biden's, Drake, Biden, we've, Brian Deese, Deese, Erika Dinkel, Smith, Seth Harris, Biden's, Julie Su, Jeff Zients, Drake's, Nandita Bose, Trevor Hunnicutt, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Labor, White, REUTERS, International Labor Organization, Hollywood, General Motors, Ford Motor, Chrysler, Workers, UPS, Teamsters, Democratic, National Economic Council, NEC, Political, AFL, America, Management, Budget, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Geneva, Switzerland, U.S, Washington